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WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Friday unanimously confirmed the nominations of two Texans to key public diplomacy posts, including Karen Hughes, a former senior administration official and longtime aide to George W. Bush aide. Hughes will serve as Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Kristen Silverberg will serve as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.  “America has a great story to tell. But unfortunately we haven’t been very good at telling it. We can do a whole lot better and we know that opinions about our nation are often manipulated and distorted by those who fear freedom, and fear liberty, and fear the kind of influence that America can -- and does -- have in the world,” Sen. Cornyn said. “We simply must correct the misimpression if we are to succeed in changing hearts and minds as we pursue the global war on terrorism and its root causes, and I’m confident Karen Hughes will succeed in that critical role. Sen. Cornyn, along with Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, introduced Hughes and Silverberg at their Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing last Friday.  Hughes served previously as Counselor to President Bush.  Prior to that, she led communications efforts for then-Gov. Bush and served as his 2000 presidential campaign communications director.  From 1992 to 1994, she was executive director of the Republican Party of Texas. Earlier in her career, she was a news reporter for KXAS-TV in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. Ambassador Hughes received an English degree and a B.F.A. degree in Journalism from Southern Methodist University.“I’m convinced that Kristen Silverberg will do an outstanding job as we work to reform the United Nations and continue our multilateral diplomacy effort,” Cornyn said.Silverberg currently serves as Deputy Assistant to the President and Advisor to the Chief of Staff.  She has also served as the Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and as senior Advisor to Ambassador L. Paul Bremer in Baghdad, Iraq. Before her service in Iraq, she served as Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office of the Chief of Staff.Sen. Cornyn is a member of the following key Senate Committees: Armed Services; Judiciary; Budget, Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Joint Economic. Cornyn served previously Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice and Bexar County District Judge.